Raymond I of Tripoli

Raymond I of Tripoli (1049-1105), also known as Raymond IV of Toulouse, was the Count of Toulouse from 1094 to 1098, succeeding William IV of Toulouse and preceding Philippa of Toulouse. From 1102 to 1105 he was the first count of Tripoli, preceding Alphonse I of Toulouse.

Biography
Raymond was a son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de la Marche, and he became count of Toulouse in 1094. He was deeply religious and was one of the first men to take up the cross in the First Crusade in 1096, leading the siege of Antioch in 1097-1098. He was the steward of Godfrey de Bouillon after the fall of Jerusalem, and Raymond served as a vassal to Godfrey. In 1102 he was granted the County of Tripoli, and he captured Tripoli from the Saracens in 1109. He had originally been offered the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but he did not want to rule over a city where Jesus had suffered. In 1101 he was defeated at Mersivan in the Crusade of 1101, and in 1102 he was imprisoned by Duke Tancred on Galilee after heading to Antioch. He promised not to conquer anything between Acre and Antioch, but he conquered Tripoli against Tancred's wishes. He died in 1105 before Tripoli fell.